Campus Computing 1993. The USC National Survey of Desktop Computing in Higher Education.

Green, Kenneth C.; Eastman, Skip

A national survey of desktop computing in higher education was conducted in spring and summer 1993 at over 2500 institutions. Data were responses from public and private research universities, public and private four-year colleges and community colleges. Respondents (N=1011) were individuals specifically responsible for the operation and future direction of academic computing on their campuses. Among key findings were: (1) institutions appear to want software and information technology resources to support instruction primarily software developed by outside sources; (2) nearly half of institutions provide some assistance to help faculty develop technology-based instructional resources but only 15 percent reward or provide incentive to faculty who do develop software; (3) the proportion of campuses reporting budget cuts in computing activities continues to decline from 31 percent in 1992 and 36 percent in 1991 to 28 percent in 1993; (4) there has been a clear shift to '486-based systems in the IBM/compatible domain; (5) expanding campus computing networks remains a top institutional priority; and (6) the proportion of students and faculty who own computers continues to rise slowly across all sectors. Also included are the survey data and appendixes detailing study methodology, the survey form, and a list of participating institutions. (JB)